Skan DeLuxe Exposure Meter User manual

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   EXPOSURE iAETER
        O Including ASA Exposure Index toble for
                    qll films O conversion toble for oll ofher film
               roting systems O toble of filrer foctors o
            cnd o speciql section for use of rhis merer
                In moking movies.

rT                                              {j"IHIS IS A BOOKLET for tbe
 ctt nerd fan utbo desires notbing so mucb                                                             I
as         knack       tbe   iust                 of being consistently           -l             bis picture-taking.good'      in          all
He knouts of course, that balf tbe knack
is proper exposure. At tbe sa'rne tirne,
be may feel tbat making proper expo-
sure is a subject only for experts, is
tberefore complex, and rnigbt detract
from the full enioyment ol bis bobby,lf so, he utill utelcome this booklet,
*Reading  it all (for tbere is no real
sbort cut to proper exposure)-tbe
carnera fan utill find proper exposure
reduced. to his outn terms,-simple,
thorougb and sure. Using it-be utill
find. bis picture-taking tbat mucb
closer to perfection,

                          Clplri*hl 1948, G-M Laboratories  ,Inc.



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PROPER EIIPOSURE
          'is cr mqtter of
  PRETIsION
        Next lo his comero, fhe photo fon who turns out
         the best piciures considers his exposure meter his
         most importont piece of equipmenf. He hos long
         since recognized thot proper exposure is nof
         hoppenstonce, but is insteod the resuh of ihe mosf
         precise use of ovoiloble light-in proper bolonce
          with his film, lens openings ond shufier speedr. He
        knows thot proper exposure is, indeed, o moller
         of reql precision.
             All this pre-supposes o meler of reol precision os
         well . . . o meler os precise os ii is eosy to under-
         stond ond use. SKAN meets lhis need os no meier
       hos ever done before:  ( l) SKAN'S View-Finder
         seeks out lhe scene fo be photogrophed ond oims
        the meier for perfect light reoding. (2) SKAN'S
        Twin Scqle gives o light ronge thot is more fhon
        odequote for ihe most occurole light reoding.
          (3) SKAN hos the sqme restricted light occeptonce
         ongle for both rhe high ond low light scole. And
         (4) SKAN'S computer is complete-no "deod
         spols" to guess of-no reoson nol lo expose lhe
          picture precisely.
            In shorl, SKAN is porollel in every woy to the
        need for precision in oll your picture toking, ond
             if's mqde for liferime service by-
   LAB0BllT0BItS.lilc.
      4300 N0. KN0X AVEI{UE . CHtCAG0 4t, il.UN0lS

lllustroted on rhese iwo poges ore the vqrious ports of your
   meter to which reference is frequently mode on foliowing pog.r.
   leorn the ports by nome, ond fhe insrruciions which rltioni in
    this book will be complefely cleor.

   TA8 FOR SETTING
    EXPOSURE INDEX                            APERTURE FOR
                                              EXPOSURE INDEX
                                       OF FII.M IN USE
  SHUTIER SPEEDS
  (ouTER DrAt)
  f20 sec. to t/t2OO


       scArE.
       SHIFTER
       | / stops
  (|NNER DtArl
  r/t b t/15

                                                 RIDGES FOR
SPRING CATCH                                      SURE GRIP
FOR EXPOSURE
INDEX
                                                APERTURE ANO
                                          MARKER FOR
                                                        I.IGHT VATUE


                                   MEMO CARD

   R.EVER.SE SIDE OF METER

a-

                                                      -q-rt               u ieu-findErthe               a €I{An    qrms your meter for crccurcrle recrding

                Just qs the center-of-inferesf is oll-imporfqnt  in
           o picture, so the light vqlue of the center-of-
                  interest is oll-importqnt in the exposure.
              The SKAN View-Finder not only qims your meter
                  precisely qt the center-of-interest, but qlso shows
              whefher you qre geiting exirqneous ot' slroy
                   light thot hos no ,beoring on the octuql subiecf
or center-of-interest. As illustroted below, the View-Finder will
help you lower your meter until the sky is eliminqted in outdoor
 shots, qnd your subsequeni light vqlue will be more occu-
 rqte for the center-of-interesl. For close-up subiects, the center-
 of-interest should  filt the View-Finder completely, thus qutomqtic-
 olty excluding side light, bock-lighling, etc.
The ocbeptonce ongle of the View-Finder is 50o. This con-
forms to the 50o cone of light used in estoblishing ihe meler's
A.S.A. occeptonce of  O.64,
for Clqss A meters. lt qlso
conforms lo ihe occePlonce
ongle stqndqrd for comerqs.
Thus the View-Finder is syn-
chronized with ihe photo-cell
of your meter (for both the
high qnd low scoles), qnd,
the lens of your c<lmer<r' lo
qdd one more imPorlont ele'
ment of  precision to Your
 picture-loking.


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Frulethe Sh^,  ru in
 mqkes qlf lighr reodings eqsy qnd qccurqte
 When the scole-shifter
                                                                    40 is in its upper position,  2{      810
 you hqve q big 15/e in.      t.(      o)s                50
 scqle on which to reqd    .4.E
 ofl low volue reflected   0          LOW SCALE   f ight from ,4 to   t 0O
 cqndles per sq. ft. With
 the scqle-shifter in its lower position you have on equolly lorge
 scqfe on which ro reqd oll high vqlue reflecred light-from j0  to
 1600 cqndles per sq. ft. By thus spreoding olt light vqlue over q
 totqf 3t/a inch scole you hove more thqn odequote room for moking
                                  very qccurote light
                    130   160                     reodings. Moreover,
                                          the chqnge from high
                                           to low scqle ond bqck
                                            is done electricdlly;
                             no chqnce for   ffi€-
                                       chqnicql inoccurocies,
                                  fhus you hqve the
oNtY meter thof hqs the some restricred light occeptonce ongte
for both the high qnd low light scqles. lllustrqtions show ligtrt
vqlues of intermediote points on both the high ond low scqles.
These intermediqie light volues correspond to the intermediqte
                                       points of the light vqlue
                                    operlure on the reverse
                                      side of the meter, so thof
                                ony given light vqlue cqn
                             be qccurotely set lo give
                                        the most precise exposure.

GETTINE  RERIIII
                       *                             mefrer       to use rhe SBnn
O SET ZERO ADJUSTMENT
    Cover the photo-cell window to shuf out
     oll light. With meter horizontol, the point-
    er should reqd 0 on the low scole. lf  it
   does nof, turn Zero Adiustment Screw
    with thumb-nqil until pointer rests on 0.
O FltL IN THE MEMO CARD Write rhe A.s.A. Expo-
    sure tndex of the film in your comeror both DAY qnd
   TUNGSTEN, on the Memo
    Cqrd. When chonging to qn-
    other film, your  previous
     pencil mqrks con be rubbed
      off.
o WINTER PRECAUTION  stotic etec-
      tricify mqy cctuse pointer lo stick or move
     erroticolty. lf so, breqthe on the scole
    window until pointer moves freely.

o AIMING THE METER Hotd rneter
    horizontql qnd look verticolly into the
    View-Finder to point it qccurqtely ot your
    scene or subiecf. Keep ouidoor shots low,
    ovoiding loo much sky. Your View-Finder
     will tell you when you're "reoding" the
     center-of-inlerest of your scene.


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How Io get
PROPER lIEHI RERTTINES
Although the voriety of photogrophs ond the light conditions under
which they cqn be foken is infinite, oll phofos nevertheless foll into
qbout seven well-defined groups. The seven groups qre illustroted
on the next few poges, ond with only o little procfice, you will
become fqmiliqr with the best wqys of getting occurote light reqd-
ings in eqch group.
Remembe r olways fo toke  f ull advanfoge of the high ond low scoles
on your meler Io gef fhe mosf qccurofe reading of your light.
I" GENERAL, OR DISTANT, SCENES





   Tqke o meter reoding from your comero position, oiming
   the meter of the cenler-of-inlerest (mountoin, building,
   people in foreground, etc.). Avoid sky in the View-Finder,
   os the relotively higher light vqlue of the sky will give you
  o higher reoding, with resultqnl under-exposure of your
    subiect.

2. CTOSE-UPS

   This type of picture should be ex-
   posed exclusively for the center-of-
    interest, regordless of bockground.
  Aim rneter directly of subiect, toking
  q reqding qt q distqnce equql to the
   width of the subiecf. Avoid costing o
  shqdow on the surfqce you qre
    recding.

  3. SNOWSCAPES, €EASCAPES





  Tqke your reoding on ihe center-of-inferesf, either close-up
  or from comero position. Remember, however, thot both
  snow qnd wqter reflect sunlight so intensely qs lo hqve the
   effecf of direct light. Hence, if ony greof qmount of snow or
  wqter is in your picture, ond in order to qllow for shqdow
   detoil, moke your compulolion occording fo your light reqd-
   ing ond then mqke your exposure one full f/stop lorger os
   exploined on Poges I4qnd 15.

t0

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4. INACCESSIBLE SUBJECTS
When q close-up meter reqd-
 ing is desired but improcticol,
you cqn substitute qnd "resd"
neorby oblects of similqr color
qnd  illuminotion. Neorby
 grqss, for exqmple, con be sub-
stituted for distqnt scenery
lhot is heovy with gross,
folioge, etc., of similqr color.
Or you cqn tqke q reoding
on your hond if photogroph-
ing inoccessible flesh tones,
etc. In the scene of right, o
 reoding would be token of neorby rocks ond ground with coffi.
 psroble light qnd shqdows on fhem,
5. SCANNING

A scene which hos highly con-
trosting lights qnd shqdows
on the vorious elements you
wont to photogroph .should
be "scqnned". Tqke light
reodings of boih the high ond
low light qreqs qnd qveroge
lhem for on overqll light
vqlue. lf desired, ihe qveroge
cqn fqvor the most importont
port  . of the scene. In ihe
scene of  right,  seporote
reodings would be lqken of
ihe bqrn, lhe shqdows on the porch, ond the bright side of the
house.
Rememb er olwoys fo fo/<e  f ull odvontage of the high qnd low scoles
on yaur meler lo get the mosf qccursle reading of your light.
                                                        tt

6, INDOOR PICTURES


    In generol, the preceding rules opply
    indoors. Extrq cqre should clwoys be
   loken however, to get qs much light
  on the subiect <ls possible qnd to
   ploce your lighting so crs to qvoid
   grotesque shqdows. Close-up reqd-
   ings ore qdvisqble in oll cqses ond,
     if you use qrtificiol light, be sure to
   compute your cqmerct setting qs per
   the TUNGSTEN index of your film.

  7. COTOR PICTURES
         Here ogoin, ihe foregoing generql rules qpply. However,
          becquse color film hos much less lotitude thqn blqck-qnd-
          white ond is qlso more sensitive to light qnd shqdow, be sure
           to qvoid toking scenes of high confrqst. Flot lighting is the
           secret of good color pictures. As neorly os possible, the
          subiect qnd bockground should be of sqme brightness
          ronge.

  CAUTION:          rhe foresoins rules pre-suppose
  o ccrmera shuller thof is f unctioning properly. Hence if fhe
   rules do not produce perfecf resuhs, hoye your comerq
   checked by on expert to delermine whether you have o
   "fqst" or "slowt' shutler. You can then odiust your meler
   computofions sccordingly, os per fhe insfrucfions begin ning
                                         on Poge 13.
t2

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HOW
                     TO

                         USE
                   YOUR
  This speciol 8-poge section
 contqins complete dotq on films,
 filters, shutter speeds, etc. forhondy reference when using   Eh^;
your SKAN Exposure Meter with
o movie comero.              EXPOSURE
  The SKAN is porticulorly fine
                                feq-                  Speciolin movie-mqking.                                so      METERtures     hqve been built                        into it
thqt for normol use, computo-
iions of  f/slops qnd  shutler      WITH
speeds cqn be mqde of leisure
              Memo            on theond recorded                        Cqrd     A                 the qctuqlwell     in qdvqnce                of
picture-toking. Then the only re-
quirement qt the time of shoot-      MOVIE
ing is to tqke q light reoding.
             less                 opportunity    meonsThis                                  for      CAMERA   )      movies                 better quolity,errort             of
qnd eqch scene quicker qnd eqs-
ier to toke.
  How to puf these speciol feq-
tures to work for you is ex-
ploined, olong with necessqry
dqtq on movie films, elc., on the
next few poges.

rtr m pu tE rthe €6An!^a -a
                     is speciolly mqrked
                for use wirh movie cqmerqs
The normol speed for moking silent movies ond consequently
fhe speed for which qll movie comeros qre geqred, is l6 frqmes
per second. This, qs you will note on Poges F qnd G of this
speciol section, is equivolent to o shutter speed in most cqmerqs
qf l/gOtn second. And to help you locqte quickly l/SOth sec-
ond on the shutter speed diql there is q lorge dot over irr{-     .





   Similorly, for high speed movies mode qf 8 frqmes per second
(obout l/lStn\, the diol is conveniently morked  o  .And   for                                                    t5
slow-motion movies, 32 frqmes per second (obour  t /o0rh), rhe
diql is mqrked  . o   .
             60
  Thus when you mqke frequent chonges from toking normol
pictures lo fqsf or slow-motion pictures, qnd therefore hqve to
mqke on-lhe-spot computotions, your SKAN computer rnokes  it
eosier for you by high-lighting, with o big dot, the proper shutter
speed for eqch type of picture.
  Check corefully the tcbles on Poges F qnd G to be sure lhqt
you use the ociuql shutter speeds furnished by the mqnufqcturer
for your porticulor movie cqmers.



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usE the gh^ry mEmo rurd
        qnd eliminqte frequenf computotions
     lf you toke qll or most of your movies qt one porticulor speed,
   the Memo Cqrd on your SKAN Meter shoutd be completely filled
    in qs per the exomple shown below to eliminqte neorly oll necessity
,   of moking exposure computotions qt the iime of shooting.
      In the exomple illustroted, the cqmero is being used ot the
   normql l6 frqmes per second (or t/goth shutter speed) ond the
    film in use hqs qn A.s.A. Exposure |,ndex of loo DAYLIGHT.
    This index is recorded in ihe upper left corner of lhe Memo Cord.





    By setting the mqrker ot 6.5 in the light volue operfure on
   the compvter,  f f 4 oppeors next to  t /SOth second; hence  f ll    is
      fif led in the squqre under 6.5 on the Memo Cqrd. Simitorly,  f I s.6
   qppecfrs opposire l/30 when rhe light vqlue is 13; f/g for light
  vqlue 25, etc,
    When fhe f,/stops ore qlt filled in, the computotions qre com-
   plete. And qs long qs movies ore mqde qt l6 frqmes per second,
  qnd with the some film, the user needs only lo toke light reqd-
   ings of his vqrious scenes qnd reqd the proper f/s+op from fhe
  Memo Cord. In the exomple, o light vqfue of 50 quickly ielts the
   user to sfop his cqmerq down to  f lll,  o light vqtue of I00 meqns
      f I 16, etc.

The Americqn Stqndqrds Associqtion hqs estqblished siqndqrd
   procedures by which oll film mqnufqcturers now roie or "index"
   their fitms. These rotings qre known qs A.S.A. Exposure Indexes
  qnd qre usuqlly shown on o sheet included in ecch film pockoge.
     Becquse of this stqndqrdizotion of fitm roting, the SKAN Expo-
   sure Meter is olso cqlibrqted exclusively for A.S.A. Exposure In-
   dexes. The tqbles on these iwo pqges qre for your permonenf
   guidonce to the A.S.A. Exposurb Index, both DAYLIGHT ond
  TUNGSTEN, of qll populor film for movie comerqs
             I6 mm. Movie Film (Block & Whire)
                                EXPOSURE INDEX Emul-
                                         Doylight Tungslen sion
   Ansco:        Triple S Pon Rev.    100  80  Pqnchro-3
              Hypon Reversible   40   32  Ponchro-3
         Supreme        50   32  Ponchro-3
  DuPont:    Type 301                  64    40  Ponch ro
                fype 314                  40    25  Ponch ro
  Gevqerl:    Ultro Pqn Rev.          80    64  Ponch ro-  I
               Super Pon Rev.         24    16  Ponchro
                Micro Pon Rev.             l0     6   Ponch ro
  Kin-O-[ux:  No. I                        16
              Nc. 3                      64    50   Pon ch ro
               Gold Seol                 125  Ponchro
   Kodqk:       Super-XX Ponch romqtic   100    80   Po nch ro- I
                Super-X Ponchromqtic   40    32  Ponchro-l

D
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l
i thE  -'lL    rtrmputer
          highfy l"gible, complete, eqsier to use

d



    I      After you hqve properly determined the light vqlue of q scene, the
      light vqlue must be interpreted into the lorbinorions
     qnd shutter speeds with which your cclmer<l is equipped. "{l/;;;;The SKAN       i
     Computer does this for you with omozing      ipeed qnd sim- If       plicity.                                      "or",
            porticulorly thqt the shutter speeds most often'used .,re high-      f!9t"
      lighted on blqck bockgrounds on t'h" outer (time) diql. These .,re
                              I / lO00 second
                       1 / 500 second
           1/200 second
                                              'l / 100 second
                           I / SO second
                  | 125 second
              1/ l0 second
                1/ 5 second
                    1 / 2 second
                  I second
           2 secon ds
          4 seconds
           8 seconds
             l5 seconds
           30 seconds
           60 seconds
            120 seconds
     All other shuffer speeds with which your c<lmerq might be
    gquipped clre shown in the white spclce,s in between. Sim ilorly,
    the  f / stops most commonly used ore set on the extreme outer
   edge of the f/stop (inner) diol where they ore eosier to line up
    with the figures for shutier speeds. All other [/stops qre set fui-
    ther bqck from the edge, so you olwoys hqve q definite f/stop to
   work with. Other elemenfs of the SKAN Computer ore so qrronged
    thot with only one swing of the diol you cqn quickly spot ony- of
    the proper exposure combinqtions for cl perfect piciure.
                                                 I3

ifr,
 uring the E6At? romPutEr
 O SET EXPOSURE INDEX NUMBER
   Film monufqclurers now show on A.S.A. Exposure Index, both
  DAYLIGHT qnd TUNGSTEN, somewhere in the filrn pockoge.
   (Also see tqble on Poges l6 to l8). The following simple steps
    <lre numbered to correspond with the diogrqm on the fqcing pqge:
  Set the Exposure Index number by pressing down on spring
   cotch (lo), turning diol by tob (lb), until proper number shows in
   center of qperture (lc). Releqse spring cotch (lo) to lock number
   permqnently in ploce. Record Exposure Index numbers on Memo
   Cqrd.
 O SET TIGHT VALUE
  Move blqck (inner) diql until light vqlue mqrker points exoctly to
  number olintermediote spqce in the light vqlue operture thqf
   corresponds to light vqlue of your scene. Now you qre reody to                                                                         -
 O MAKE YOUR COMPUTATION
   Simply select, from lhe numerous combinqtions now shown by the
   Computer, c.ny combinqtion of shufter speed qnd f/stop ihot fits
   your cqmerq, qnd tqke your picture.

  EXAMPLE:
               Suppose you qre using Ansco Ultrq Speed Pqn
  35 mm. film, in doylighr. The A.S.A. Exposure Index number will
  be 100 qs shown (lc). You hqve estqblished your light vqlue os
  80 qnd hqve set the mqrker qccordingly. The exposure combinq'
   iions now ovqilqble to tqke your picture c<ln be quickly spotted os
   t/s.d st t/200, lf8 ot t/too,  t/ll  or 1/50,  f l'16 qt 1f 25, etc.
   Less common combinqtions, which ore iusf os perfect if you hqve
  them on your comero, qre shown ssf 13.5 qt t/500, {19 ot 1180,
      f 122 st 1 I 12, ond so on.
     ff you must chonge your computotion by q full  f /s+op (os suggested
   for snowscopes ond seoscopes) iust remember your blqck (inner)

l4
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b                                    lc       \        ES        ffi
                  5.Sm

    -fco
   -to
    -t<


 ta/
 diql is mqrked in fhirds of q stop (f/o.s is q third smqiler rhsn
 f/,5,.6, or  f.f s is q third lorger, etc.) Hence s {ullrt"p  i"rf er  f hqn f /s.6 is  f /4,  etc.
with only .'  little prociice, seiting the dior for eqch difierenf
exposure becornes q simple.,one-fhumb  operotion-moking rhe
SKAN one of the eqsiest of oll exporrr" r"iers fo use.

                                                r5

ASA
              r for COTOR film
                                 ,t,d used in STlt[ cqmerqs

    The exposure of color film colls for moximum precision ond
   q few extro precoutions.  First, choose cr scene wirh good
     overoll flot lighting, ovoiding over-bright spots os well os
    deep shodows. Second, toke your. light reoding os occu-
      rotely os possible, using the cenler-of-interest qs your guide.
                                      EXPOSURE INDEX
            Roll Film                              Doylight Tungsten
    Ansco: Color Doylight             12       3I
             Color Tungsten                            ro**t1++     1.tz
   Kodok Ektochrome, Doylight Type        8       ...
             Kodocolor                               25
          Sheet Film
    Ansco: Color Doylight                   lo       2.51             Color Tungsten                      loII      lo    Kodok: Ektochrome Film, Doylighf Type      8        ...
             Ektochrome Film, Type B                              1nlv
            Kodochrome Professionol  Film.
                 Doylight Type               8        ...
            Kodochrome Professionol  Film, Type B               l0
        35 mm. Ministure qnd Bqntom
    Ansco: Color Doylight               12       3I
             Color Tungsten                    12II     12
   Kodok: Kodochrome Doylight Type            l0        4*
           Kodochrome Type A                 l0**            I 6
     fwith Ansco Conversion Filter No. I0.
     **Wittt Ansco Conversion Fiher No.  I l.
      *With Kodochrome Filter for Photoflood (Tungsten).
    **With Kodochrome Type A Filter for Doylight.


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H|||IS En sElErting
      the proper t/stop qnd speed
Usuolly 8 or more differenf combinotions of f/stops ond shutler
speeds ore indicoted by your Computer os proper for ony given
picfure. ln deciding which combinqtion lo use, lhese generol rules
opply: When rhe subiect is o boby or onimol, you should oniicipote
some molion during the exposure ond hence use o combinotion with
o relotively fost shufier speed, ot leost l/50th. Do the some when
toking on obiect thot is moving stroight ocross your comero or ot
ony ongle.  lf the obiect is coming sfroight info your comero, use q
slower shutier speed. For disfont scenery, or ony shot where you
wont oll porls of ihe piclure io be in shorp focus, use o combinqlion
with the smollesf tlslop possible, such os f 116 or tlSZ. tllis is olso
porticulorly good technique for color piclures. Other fhon lhese
specific situofions, ony of the vorious combinoiions indicoted by
your compuler will give excellent  resulls.
Orher lens systems
lf the lens openings on your comerq ore not morked in f/stoPs
lhey will probobly conform fo one of lhe two systems shown below.
Uniform
System (U.S.)     0.5 I 1.4 1.6 2 2.54 8163264 128
Other Comeros Morked                123      1
Converr to        f/2.8 4 4.5 5  5.6 6.3 I  ll  16 22 32 45
A.S.A. colibrotion conslqntz 1.27
The exposure required to photogroph on overoge scene by re-
flected light is determined by rhis formulo: T- K*
                                            BS
T:   Exposure lime in seconds   S:  A.S.A. Exposure Index
A:   Relotive Aperture (f/stop)   K: A.S.A. Cqlibrolion Conslonl
B:   Brightness in condles per sq.
      ft., of o uniform brightness The SKAN meter  is designed for
    surfoce.              K    1.27                                         -
                                               t9